Throughout its over one thousand years of history, Rome probably fought more wars than any other civilizatio n has ever seen. Warfare was central to Rome's success and was the engine that kept the Roman Republic and su
bsequently the Empire as the supreme power in the west for so long. The Romans displayed a remarkable amount of sophistication and innovation when it came to their weapons and equipment, and this technological superiority gave the Romans the upper hand in conflicts that defined this amazing civilization.
Wars
There was hardly a time when the Roman Republic or Empire was not waging war in some theater or ano
ther. Central to Roman civilization was warfare and expansion in order to keep the coffers and people well supplied with treasures. For the sake of simplicity, wars will be split into eras, beginning with the Roman Republic.
Early Republic
Warfare in the early Republic was about consolidating control of Italy. Early campaigns were fought against such nations as the Aequia, Volscia, Fidenae, and Tarquinii, north of Rome. The important thing is to note that most of the fighting in the early Republic centered around taking control of the local areas around Rome. One setback to the romans is that around 390 B.C. Rome was actually sacked by the Gauls, and agreed to leave the area only after exacting one thousand pounds of gold. This defeat remained in the minds of the Romans well after the defeat, and was avenged three and a half centuries later with Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul. The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought against Carthage that took place from around 260 B.C. to 150 B.C. At the time, this was probably the most extensive war that had taken place in history, and only ended when Rome had razed Carthage. This victory is what propelled Rome to the supreme status it enjoyed until its downfall.
Late Republic to Early Empire
Much of the fighting from the first century B.C. to the first century AD was centered around expansion and retaining control of territories. The Gallic Wars, for which Julius Caesar is well known for having led the forces of Rome to victory in, was fought for seven years and ended with Rome killing more than a million natives and only losing about thirty thousand. In this time period he also invaded Britain. During the late first century Rome also began its conquest of Spain under the leadership of Agrippa. In the early years of the change from B.C. to AD Rome began experiencing a series of rebellions, including in Gaul, Britain, Pannonia, Israel, and southern Mesopotamia. It was this time that the Roman Empire was the largest it would ever get, covering arou nd two million square miles, which today relates to be larger than India but smaller than Australia. The United States by comparison is about one and a half times larger than the Roman Empire was at its height, but it’s important to remember that this was done at a time when communication and administration was very primitive.
Waning Years of the Empire
In the late Empire, many wars were fought that primarily were aimed at retaining control of Roman territories. Especially in the third century, anarchy broke out across the empire and a great deal of Roman resources was devoted to restoring order. Most of the fighting at this time took place Gaul and Britain, and only ended when in 410 AD Britain is considered to be officially out of Roman hands. This is also the year that the Visigoths, a Germanic tribe, sacked Rome. It was around sixty years later that the last emperor of the west, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed and Italy came under control of Germanic kings based in Ravenna.
Weapons
Manufacture:
Originally in the Roman military soldiers provided their own equipment. Eventually, the state took on the responsibility for arming new recruits and did so by mass-producing armor and weapons. This was done in workshops called fabricae with labor provided by immunes, who were specialized legionnaires.
Infantry
Spears and Javelins:
Spears were originally the primary weapon of the Roman legion and the most common type was called the pilum (pl. pila), of which there were two types: long and thin. In the first and second Punic Wars , the thrusting spear had been Rome’s national weapon, but during the late Republic and early empire these two throwing spear types had become the standard spear weapon associated with the legion. The thick pilum had a broad and flat tang. The thinpilum featured a long iron head that could measure up to three feet long. By the time of the Roman emperor Marius there were two major innovations in spear design: the wooden rivet, and the soft metal points. After the spear had been thrown, upon contact with the enemy or the ground either the wooden rivets would snap, thus rendering the spear unusable, or (more often) the soft metal at the point would bend, thus making the spear worthless as a weapon. This was done in order to limit the ability of the enemy to reuse Roman weaponry against the legionary forces. Both types of spears had a lethal range of around ninety feet and later versions had a leather thong attached at the point of balance in order that the spear could be thrown with a twisting, spinning motion much like a football, which added penetration and accuracy to its flight. At the end of the 4th century, legionaries were armed with weighted darts (martiobarbulus) and other descendants of the early pilum that usually reached a shaft length of just over one meter.
Swords
In the 8th to 7th centuries BC swords varied from longer slashing weapons to shorter stabbing ones. The longer variants were kno
Drawings of recovered gladii.
wn as antennae swords and were usually made of bronze and anywhere from twelve to twenty-two inches long. The short Spanish sword that most are familiar with, the gladius hispaniensis, was adopted from Spanish auxiliaries serving with Hannibal of Carthage in the late 3rd century BC. It had dagger-like shape, a double edged two inch blade and was primarily as a cutting, thrusting, and stabbing weapon. In the 1st century AD a new sword was introduced with straighter more parallel sides than the original, but was still referred to as the gladius hispaniensis. In the late 2nd and early 3rd century AD the gladius was replaced by the spatha, which was around two feet four inches long, and by the beginning of the 4th century this was the standard of al l legionaries.
Daggers
Daggers (pugiones, singular pugio) were used off and on by the legion during the Roman empire. Early dagers had a blade of iron or bronze, and were around nine inches long, with a handle made from either wood or bone. Daggers were worn on the left by legionnaires (same side as the shield) while centurions wore theirs on the right. The dagger was usually used as a reserve weapon, in case the longer sword had been lost, and could be used as a general purpose knife in day to day routine. By the 2nd century AD the dagger disappeared from the legionnaires equipment, and resurfaced later in the 3rdcentury as part of the auxiliary equipment set.
Bows
Archers used the composite bow which was made from wood that wrapped around a horn. The bow would then be wrapped in sinews to provide further durability and resistance and was reinforced at the end with another pair of horn knocks. Arrows were either made from wood or reeds and would sport iron or sometimes bone heads.
Caltrops
Caltrops (triboli, singular tribolus) were sets of iron spikes that had at least one spike always pointed upwards. These were scattered on the ground against calvary, and much larger wooden caltrops (resembling modern day tank barriers) could be set up in defensive positions in ditches and on the tops of palisade walls.
Calvary
Contus: this was a heavy lance about twelve feet long that was used without a shield by calvary forces. It would have been used either in a charge or thrown from a distance, and the heads were made extensively of iron.
Swords: In the early empire much of the cavalry was Celtic, and used the longer spatha sword which was derived from the much longer sword used by the Celts at that time.
Artillery
Ballistae: This was a two armed stone throwing machine that could hurl medium sized stones up to a third of a mile and could breach walls of brick and wood, although they were less effective against sheer stone. If mounted on a cart, they could be pulled by mules, and were then termed carro-ballistae. These were in use by the late Republic and continued service until the 4th century AD, when they were obsolete.
Catapultae: These were two armed anti-personnel machines that fired iron bolts or arrows, were portable, and had a range of around one thousand feet or more. The bolts used with these machines tapered to a point and were usually two to three inches in length. Smaller variants of the catapulawere referred to as scorpions.
Onagri: In the 4th century AD on, the primary artillery piece used by the Romans was a one armed torsion machine that hurled larger stone balls. These had to be mounted on solid platforms due to vibrations during use, and were less portable than earlier pieces used.
Armor
In early Rome (8th-7th centuries BC) only the wealthiest of soldiers wore armor. This was usually only a helmet and a breastplate made of beaten bronze that was analogous to Greek designs. In the late Republic and early empire, the bulk of armor in the Roman army was worn by the legionaries, although essentially the same armor was used in mounted forces. There were several main styles of Roman armor, which show a progress and evolution of the abilities of Rome to protect her soldiers.
Body Armor
Pectorale: In the 2nd century B.C. this eight inch square breastplate was common to see in infantry, as well as one greave worn on the left leg. By the first century BC, however, greaves had passed out of common use.
Pteryges: These were strips of leather or fabric which were used to protect the thighs and legs.
Lorica hamata: Around 300 BC this type of mail armor was invented by the Celts and adopted by the wealthier legionaries, who wore extremely heavy lorica hamatae that could reach thirty pounds. The use of mail armor declined sharply in the early empire, although this was primarily the armor of early calvrymen.
Lorica segmentata: In the first century AD, this articulated plate armor was the standard armor for legionnaires. It was made by connecting plates of metal with leather straps and hooks.
Lorica squamata: this type of armor was used mainly in the first and second centuries AD and consisted of overlapping iron or bronze scales, which were about two inches long.
Helmets
There were a great many different styles of helmets used by the Rome in its early history. Many archaic examples were oversized and made of two pieces of bronze or a singlular pieced bell shaped helmet. However, when Rome began mass producing armor and weapons, helmet design was considerably more uniform.
Late period Imperial Gallic helmet with cross linked fashioned on top for strength.
Montefortino: This Celtic design was adopted by the Roman army after the fourth century BC. It became the most common form of helmet in Rome until the first century AD. These were made of bronze and had a close relative called the Coolus helmet, which differed in that it did not have a socket at the top for a plume or crest.
Imperial-Gallic: made of iron, this came from an earlier variant of the Coolus helmet, and featured an enlarged back neckguard and cheek pieces. This is the most famous example of helmet, and often makes its way into Hollywood representations of armor in Rome.
Shields
Clypeus: this was a smaller round shield used in early Roman times that had a central hand grip.
Scutum: in the early Republic this type of ovoid was common and gave more protection than a round shield, especially if the wearer squatted. These were made of sheets of wood glued together and covered with canvas and leather. Later variants were reinforced with an iron rim.
New Scutum: In the first century, the ovoid scutum was replaced by a shield of the same name which was a shorter and rectangular, and was reinforced with either bronze or iron. These could either be flat or curved.
Military Logistics
Organization of the Legion
The legion was the primary fighting force of the Romans. In the Republic, campaigns were originally short and soldiers were returned to their farms after the summer campaigning season. Service age ranged from 17 to 46, and it was only after Rome began prodigious expansion that more permanent military structure and manpower was needed. Sixteen years for a legionnaire and ten for cavalry was the normal period of service. In the empire, command of military forces was held originally by consuls, although this was later expanded to proconsuls, praetors, and propraeters. In a typical legion, there were six tribunes comprising the legate, with a senior tribunus laticlavius. These officers were primarily in charge of administration. There were fifty-nine centurions in each legion, ranked below the tribunes. They could rise from the ranks or be directly commissioned officers, and oversaw around eighty-three men. Below the centurions there were three main groups of soldiers: principales, who were noncommissioned officers, immunes, who were soldiers that had a special skill in a craft, andmilites, who were ordinary troops.
Auxiliaries
Auxiliaries were allied forces that acted as specialists for the Roman army, especially following the Punic Wars. They would be units that provided a variety of skills including light infantry, archers, slingers, and especially the cavalry. As the empire expanded, newer units would be folded in from local populations and as such different regions had different specialized fighting forces. Auxiliary forces were organized into cohortes of infantry that fought parallel with the legions, and initially each one had around 500 men divided into six centuries. The chain of command was much the same as the legion, having tribunes, centurions, and principales, immunes, and milites in the lower ranks.
Supplies
Road in the empire were originally used strictly for supplies, communication, administration, and rapid movement of troops. Mules were used to carry much equipment earlier on, but later in the empire the soldier carried most of his equipment to reduce the size of baggage trains, which could slow down the army on the march. A typical legionary carried his shield over his shoulder, helmet over the other shoulder, and wore his armor. Over the shoulder the legionary also carried a pole with a crossbar used to carry luggage and to use as a tent pole. In the luggage was a bronze mess tin, cooking pot, and a leather bag for personal effects. In another bag would be emergency rations for three days and tools, including a way, basket for building trenches, pickaxe, sickle, and wooden stakes. In a normal day soldiers could march about eighteen miles, but up to thirty miles was not unheard of in forced conditions.
Camps and Forts
During the Republic, campaigning was done only in the summer, and there was no need for more than overnight marching camps that had temporary fortifications. As Rome expanded, campaigns lengthened and the need for more permanent camps arose. A normal camp was situated preferably near water and on raised ground, and featured tents (rather than buildings) for soldiers, which accommodated eight men and their equipment. When frontiers were established, permanent forts and fortresses were used more and more. A common style was the ‘playing card’ plan, which was rectangular with curved corners, made out of stone and local building materials. As plans evolved, the defenses surrounding the forts grew from ditches to various traps and obstacles with sharpened stakes and brambles to protect the inhabitants. After the second century, theburgus, a freestanding square tower of more than one story, was used to defend the frontier . These could be incorporated into walls, most famous of which is Hadrian’s Wall in Britain, which extends for 73 miles and was used to defend against rebellion from the north. Another, lesser known wall build was the Antonine Wall, built in 138 (Hadrian’s wall was build in 122) which extended the British frontier to Scotland.
Throughout its over one thousand years of history, Rome probably fought more wars than any other civilizatio
n has ever seen. Warfare was central to Rome's success and was the engine that kept the Roman Republic and su
Table of Contents
defined this amazing civilization.
Wars
There was hardly a time when the Roman Republic or Empire was not waging war in some theater or another. Central to Roman civilization was warfare and expansion in order to keep the coffers and people well supplied with treasures. For the sake of simplicity, wars will be split into eras, beginning with the Roman Republic.
Early Republic
Warfare in the early Republic was about consolidating control of Italy. Early campaigns were fought against such nations as the Aequia, Volscia, Fidenae, and Tarquinii, north of Rome. The important thing is to note that most of the fighting in the early Republic centered around taking control of the local areas around Rome. One setback to the romans is that around 390 B.C. Rome was actually sacked by the Gauls, and agreed to leave the area only after exacting one thousand pounds of gold. This defeat remained in the minds of the Romans well after the defeat, and was avenged three and a half centuries later with Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul. The Punic Wars were a series of wars fought against Carthage that took place from around 260 B.C. to 150 B.C. At the time, this was probably the most extensive war that had taken place in history, and only ended when Rome had razed Carthage. This victory is what propelled Rome to the supreme status it enjoyed until its downfall.Late Republic to Early Empire
Much of the fighting from the first century B.C. to the first century AD was centered around expansion and retaining control of territories. The Gallic Wars, for which Julius Caesar is well known for having led the forces of Rome to victory in, was fought for seven years and ended with Rome killing more than a million natives and only losing about thirty thousand. In this time period he also invaded Britain. During the late first century Rome also began its conquest of Spain under the leadership of Agrippa. In the early years of the change from B.C. to AD Rome began experiencing a series of rebellions, including in Gaul, Britain, Pannonia, Israel, and southern Mesopotamia. It was this time that the Roman Empire was the largest it would ever get, covering around two million square miles, which today relates to be larger than India but smaller than Australia. The United States by comparison is about one and a half times larger than the Roman Empire was at its height, but it’s important to remember that this was done at a time when communication and administration was very primitive.
Waning Years of the Empire
In the late Empire, many wars were fought that primarily were aimed at retaining control of Roman territories. Especially in the third century, anarchy broke out across the empire and a great deal of Roman resources was devoted to restoring order. Most of the fighting at this time took place Gaul and Britain, and only ended when in 410 AD Britain is considered to be officially out of Roman hands. This is also the year that the Visigoths, a Germanic tribe, sacked Rome. It was around sixty years later that the last emperor of the west, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed and Italy came under control of Germanic kings based in Ravenna.Weapons
Manufacture:
Originally in the Roman military soldiers provided their own equipment. Eventually, the state took on the responsibility for arming new recruits and did so by mass-producing armor and weapons. This was done in workshops called fabricae with labor provided by immunes, who were specialized legionnaires.Infantry
- Spears and Javelins:
Spears were originally the primary weapon of the Roman legion and the most common type was called the pilum (pl. pila), of which there were two types: long and thin. In the first and second Punic Wars , the thrusting spear had been Rome’s national weapon, but during the late Republic and early empire these two throwing spear types had become the standard spear weapon associated with the legion. The thick pilum had a broad and flat tang. The thinpilum featured a long iron head that could measure up to three feet long. By the time of the Roman emperor Marius there were two major innovations in spear design: the wooden rivet, and the soft metal points. After the spear had been thrown, upon contact with the enemy or the ground either the wooden rivets would snap, thus rendering the spear unusable, or (more often) the soft metal at the point would bend, thus making the spear worthless as a weapon. This was done in order to limit the ability of the enemy to reuse Roman weaponry against the legionary forces. Both types of spears had a lethal range of around ninety feet and later versions had a leather thong attached at the point of balance in order that the spear could be thrown with a twisting, spinning motion much like a football, which added penetration and accuracy to its flight.At the end of the 4th century, legionaries were armed with weighted darts (martiobarbulus) and other descendants of the early pilum that usually reached a shaft length of just over one meter.
- Swords
In the 8th to 7th centuries BC swords varied from longer slashing weapons to shorter stabbing ones. The longer variants were knol legionaries.
- Daggers
Daggers (pugiones, singular pugio) were used off and on by the legion during the Roman empire. Early dagers had a blade of iron or bronze, and were around nine inches long, with a handle made from either wood or bone. Daggers were worn on the left by legionnaires (same side as the shield) while centurions wore theirs on the right. The dagger was usually used as a reserve weapon, in case the longer sword had been lost, and could be used as a general purpose knife in day to day routine. By the 2nd century AD the dagger disappeared from the legionnaires equipment, and resurfaced later in the 3rdcentury as part of the auxiliary equipment set.- Bows
Archers used the composite bow which was made from wood that wrapped around a horn. The bow would then be wrapped in sinews to provide further durability and resistance and was reinforced at the end with another pair of horn knocks. Arrows were either made from wood or reeds and would sport iron or sometimes bone heads.- Caltrops
Caltrops (triboli, singular tribolus) were sets of iron spikes that had at least one spike always pointed upwards. These were scattered on the ground against calvary, and much larger wooden caltrops (resembling modern day tank barriers) could beset up in defensive positions in ditches and on the tops of palisade walls.
Calvary
Artillery
Armor
In early Rome (8th-7th centuries BC) only the wealthiest of soldiers wore armor. This was usually only a helmet and a breastplate made of beaten bronze that was analogous to Greek designs. In the late Republic and early empire, the bulk of armor in the Roman army was worn by the legionaries, although essentially the same armor was used in mounted forces. There were several main styles of Roman armor, which show a progress and evolution of the abilities of Rome to protect hersoldiers.
Body Armor
Helmets
There were a great many different styles of helmets used by the Rome in its early history. Many archaic examples were oversized and made of two pieces of bronze or a singlular pieced bell shaped helmet. However, when Rome began mass producing armor and weapons, helmet design was considerably more uniform.Shields
Military Logistics
Organization of the Legion
The legion was the primary fighting force of the Romans. In the Republic, campaigns were originally short and soldiers were returned to their farms after the summer campaigning season. Service age ranged from 17 to 46, and it was only after Rome began prodigious expansion that more permanent military structure and manpower was needed. Sixteen years for a legionnaire and ten for cavalry was the normal period of service. In the empire, command of military forces was held originally by consuls, although this was later expanded to proconsuls, praetors, and propraeters. In a typical legion, there were six tribunes comprising the legate, with a senior tribunus laticlavius. These officers were primarily in charge of administration. There were fifty-nine centurions in each legion, ranked below the tribunes. They could rise from the ranks or be directly commissioned officers, and oversaw around eighty-three men. Below the centurions there were three main groups of soldiers: principales, who were noncommissioned officers, immunes, who were soldiers that had a special skill in a craft, andmilites, who were ordinary troops.Auxiliaries
Auxiliaries were allied forces that acted as specialists for the Roman army, especially following the Punic Wars. They would be units that provided a variety of skills including light infantry, archers, slingers, and especially the cavalry. As the empire expanded, newer units would be folded in from local populations and as such different regions had different specialized fighting forces. Auxiliary forces were organized into cohortes of infantry that fought parallel with the legions, and initially each one had around 500 men divided into six centuries. The chain of command was much the same as the legion, having tribunes, centurions, and principales, immunes, and milites in the lower ranks.Supplies
Road in the empire were originally used strictly for supplies, communication, administration, and rapid movement of troops. Mules were used to carry much equipment earlier on, but later in the empire the soldier carried most of his equipment to reduce the size of baggage trains, which could slow down the army on the march. A typical legionary carried his shield over his shoulder, helmet over the other shoulder, and wore his armor. Over the shoulder the legionary also carried a pole with a crossbar used to carry luggage and to use as a tent pole. In the luggage was a bronze mess tin, cooking pot, and a leather bag for personal effects. In another bag would be emergency rations for three days and tools, including a way, basket for building trenches, pickaxe, sickle, and wooden stakes. In a normal day soldiers could march about eighteen miles, but up to thirty miles was not unheard of in forced conditions.Camps and Forts
During the Republic, campaigning was done only in the summer, and there was no need for more than overnight marching camps that had temporary fortifications. As Rome expanded, campaigns lengthened and the need for more permanent camps arose. A normal camp was situated preferably near water and on raised ground, and featured tents (rather than buildings) for soldiers, which accommodated eight men and their equipment. When frontiers were established, permanent forts and fortresses were used more and more. A common style was the ‘playing card’ plan, which was rectangular with curved corners, made out of stone and local building materials. As plans evolved, the defenses surrounding the forts grew from ditches to various traps and obstacles with sharpened stakes and brambles to protect the inhabitants. After the second century, theburgus, a freestanding square tower of more than one story, was used to defend the frontier . These could be incorporated into walls, most famous of which is Hadrian’s Wall in Britain, which extends for 73 miles and was used to defend against rebellion from the north. Another, lesser known wall build was the Antonine Wall, built in 138 (Hadrian’s wall was build in 122) which extended the British frontier to Scotland.Bibliography
Drawings from Roman Military Equipment by Bishop & Coulston, Edition 2, 2006 © M.C. Bishop
http://www.legionsix.org/images/cross-braced%20Imp%20Gallic%20helm.jpg
Webster, G. The Roman Imperial Army. University of Oklahoma Press: Totowa. 1998.
Forsythe, G. A Critical History of Early Rome. University of California Press: Ewing. 2005.
Adkins, L. and Adkins, R. Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome. Facts on File: New York. 2004.
Grant, M. The Army of the Caesars. Charles Scribner's Sons: New York. 1974.
Kebric, R. Roman People. Mayfield: Mountain View. 2001.